Automobile seat



Patented Feb. i3, i923.

iii; stars JAMES H. MGCQLLOUGH, JR.,

OF SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA.

AUTOMOBILE SEAT.

`Application led August 18, 1922. Serial No. 582,654.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it knownV that I, JAMES H, McCon- LoUGH, Jr., a citizen of the United States, residing at San Jose, in the county of Santa Clara and State of California, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automobile Seats, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to automobile-seats of a type inI which the seat-frame is connected with a fixed support by a resilientlv controlled hinge or yielding joint, lthe object being to eliminate, as far as possible, the shocks which reach the occupant through the back of the'seat, thereby affording relief from fatigue, especially in the muscles of the shoulders and neck. In certain forms of seats of this type the hinge oint is located at or near the forward edge of the seat portion of the seat frame, and in such form, while said forward edge is not subject to a lifting movement, fatiguing by reason of the blows delivered under the knees of the occupant, too much weight is imposed upon the resilient members in the rear, making it necessary to increase theirl resistance beyond that required for their proper functional sensitivene'ss. In other forms the hinge joint is located back of the forward e'dge ofthe seat frame, and while the weight of the occupant is thus more advantageously disposed, there is present the undesirable oscillation v up and down of said forward edge, requirin supplementary means to counteract'its egect, as for example, the tying down of the upper edge of the front of the bottom cushion within a definite limit, or the tying Within limits of the upper edge of the back cushion. In all these forms, however, the bottom cushion is supported wholly upon and by the bottom or seat portion of the seat frame, and is therefore completely subject to'and partakes of the motion thereof.

My present invention contemplates and comprises a structure in which the oscillatable seat frame supports the seat cushion by the rear portion only of said cushion, the forward portion of the cushion resting and adapted to rock upon a stationary bearingI from which it has no tendency to rise, thereby avoiding thefatiguing blows under the knees, while permitting the seat-frame to be mounted and controlled in amanner most advantageous for the proper disposition of weight and for securing the general beneficial results of this class of seats. The charactor of my seatstructure and the objects sought and achieved will hereinafter fully appear in the course of the following dcscrlption read in connection with the acco-mpanyingdrawings in whicl1- Figure l is a vertical lcross section of my improved automobile seat.

Figure 2 is a similar section showing a modified form of yielding joint for the seat frame.

Figure 3 is a similar section showing another modification of said joint. V

Figure 4 shows still another form of joint.

In all these gures the seat frame is a rigid substantially L-shaped member comprising a back portion l and a'bottom portion 2. In Fig, 1, the bottom portion 2 of' the seat frame is supported upon the floor 3 of the vehicle, through a bendable horizontally disposed U-shaped member 4 which in effect constitutes a hinge joint about which the seat frame is adapted to osc-illate. Under the seat frame to the rear of this joint is located the controlling resilient member 5, of any suitable nature, here shown, for the sake of illustration, as a spring.

6 is the bottom or seat-cushion. Its rear portion rests upon the bottom portion 2 of the seat-frame, preferably, though not essentially by means of a bearing 7. The seatcushion 6 extends forwardly beyond the bottom portion 2 of the seat frame, and is supported through the intervention of a cross bearing 8 upon a stationary bearing, here shown as a member 9 rising from the floor o-f the vehicle body.

l0 is a flap or member to cover the space in front, and prevent the cushion from sliding forward.l

In Fig. 2, the bottom portion 2 of the seat frame is itself inherently resilicntly flexible to constitute the hinge or joint about which the seat frame oscillates and said bottom portion is connected directly with the vehicle floor.

. In Fig. y3, the bottom portion 2 of the seat frame is likewise resiliently bendable and fleXes about the rear edge of the same stationary member 9 upon which the front portion of the bottom cushion is supported.

In Fig. 4, an ordinary hinge connection 4 is shown for the seat-frame.

11 is the back cushion. All these joints are but possible variations of means for providing for the oscillation of the seatframe, and these or others may be used. In

all forms however, the essential feature is the support of the seat-cushion rearwardly upon the seat-frame, `and its support forwardly upon a stationary bearing independent of the seat frame.

As the seat frame oscillates, the seateus'hion *at the rear rises and falls wlth 1t, but at its front it does not rise and fall but merely rocks upon its bearing. It does not, therefore fatigue the occupant by blows under his knees.

Another advantage made possible by this arrangement is that not all of the welghtof the occupant is borne upon the hinge Joint and the resilient controlling m'eans--the weight being borne partly by the front support, partly by the hinge Joint,l and partly by the resilient controlling members. It 1s, therefore, apparent that these controlling members may be lighter and more sens1t1ve to horizontal' shocks coming through the back cushion and converted into motion of such controlling members.

l. A seat structure comprising a rigld, substantially L-shaped oscillatable seatframe; and a seatecushion supported rearwardly upon said frame and supported forwardly independently of said frame upon a stationary bearing.

2. A seat structure comprismg a rlgld,

tuting a back portion and a bottom portion;

a yielding joint connection applied to the bottom portion about which said seat frame is adapted to oscillate; a resilient member to control the oscillation of said seat frame; and a seat cushion supported rearwardly upon the bottom portion of the seat-frame and supported forwardly independently of said frame uponxa stationary bearing.

4. A seat structure comprising a rigid, y

substantially L-shaped seat-frame constitut' ing a back portion and a bottom portion; a yielding joint connection applied to thebottom portion labout which said seat frame is adapted to oscillate; a resilient member to control the oscillation of said seat frame; and a seat' cushion supported rearwardly upon the bottom portion of the seat-frame and supported forwardly independently of said frame upon a stationary bearing by a rocking connection.

In testlmony whereofI have signed my name to this specification.

JAMES H. MGCOLLOUGH, JR. 

